Piston

Piston


Category:	Mechanical
Function:	The piston is an expandable block that transfers power and inventory
DLC?	Vanilla

Fits small grid
Mass:	304.2 kg
Hitpoints:	1291
Power:	-0.2 kW
PCU:	100
Size:	1x3x1
Time to Build:	12 sec

Fits large grid
Mass:	1731.0 kg
Hitpoints:	6905
Power:	-2.0 kW
PCU:	100
Size:	1x3x1
Time to Build:	20 sec

Data Controls:	[purge] (?))

The Piston is a Mechanical Block that can extend to a multiple of its length in one direction and pull attached blocks with it, thereby adding a push/pull mechanism to the game.

The standard piston looks octagonal, if you want a sturdier looking variant, see Square Piston.

Usage

Pistons are used when building retractable landing feet, collapsible solar arrays, hidden turrets, extendable cranes and drill rigs, forklifts, large sliding doors, Mecha legs, lifting jacks for flipped vehicles, and much more.

The piston will convey power to the subgrids and can extend the conveyor system (see below). Pistons can actively push and pull. In contrast to hinges and rotors, you cannot set the braking torque of pistons to zero, which means that pistons cannot be moved passively like suspensions.

A crane arm stabilised by two extra pistons on rotors used as cross braces. (Image source: Splitsie)

Examples:

Drill Rigs: Drills on pistons can reach farther and dig wider and deeper mines.
Connectors: The piston's conveyor ports are useful when building retractable base Connectors: They extend to connect and (un)load landed ships, and then disconnect and move out of the way before take-off, either manually or using Timer Blocks.
Cranes: Crane joints supported by cross-bracing pistons are much more stable and can lift heavier grids than cranes built out of hinges or rotors alone.

Blocks connected by pistons will appear in different colors in the Control Panel Screen. The piston-attached grid is referred to as subgrid and is treated differently as far as steering is concerned.

Control Options

Control panel Screen	Toolbar	Description
Toggle on/off	Toggle on/off Toggle off Toggle on	When a block is toggled off, it does not fulfill its function and does not use power.
Show block in Terminal		If you have many blocks that clutter your Control Panel, but you never need to configure them, hide them here.
Show block in toolbar config		If you have many blocks that clutter your toolbar config, but you never want to use them on the toolbar, hide them here.
Name		Give the block a unique name that makes it easy for you to find it in the search with only few keystrokes.
Show on HUD on/off	Show on HUD on/off Show on HUD on Show on HUD off	If an antenna is broadcasting from this grid, you can use this to mark this block on the HUD. E.g. to highlight blocks that need repair, emergency exits, etc.
Custom Data		Used by scripts only.

Block-specific options

Pistons have practically the same Controls as Hinges.


Control panel Screen	Toolbar	Description
Safety detach	Increase/decrease safety detach	(Rarely needed) When subgrid gets displaced, this setting prevents it from speeding up and damaging its own sub-grids. 10cm to 5 metres (default).
Add Piston Head	Add Piston Head	Restores the subgrid attachment part if the piston head was destroyed.
Reverse	Reverse/Extend/Retract	Toggles the direction of the motion by negating the current speed value.
Velocity	Increase/decrease/reset/set velocity	Enter the velocity in m/s, maxing out at 5m/s in either direction. Positive numbers extend, negative numbers retract. Resetting the velocity to zero means the Piston does not actively move. Gradually de/increase speed by 0.5 m/s.
	Set and move	First enter the absolute distance to move in metres, must be a positive number within the length of the piston. Then enter the velocity in m/s.
Minimum extend distance maximum extend distance	Increase/decrease maximum/minimum distance	Set the two positions between which the Piston will move when its velocity > 0 and it's unlocked in 0.1 m increments. For large pistons: 0 to 10m (total length 5m-15m) For small pistons: 0 to 2m (total length 1-3m).
Max impulse Axis/NonAxis	Increase/decrease impulse Axis/NonAxis	Sets the force (speed) in kN that is applied by the piston when it moves. Pistons are not springs and cannot be compressed by obstacles or external forces, even if you set this to zero.

Pistons can be grouped to share some controls. Unique labels let you define several variants of the same toolbar action.

Even though you can add a piston head, you cannot re-attach a piston base to a piston head on another grid, as you can do with a Rotor/Rotor Head. It's somewhat possible (albeit fiddly) to reattach pistons using Merge Blocks.

How to stabilise grids

Don’t connect two pistons to the same grids on both ends and then set the pistons to different speeds or different extensions, because that would cause an impossible situation and stress to which the simulation likely reacts with a rapid unscheduled disassembly.

When connected one to another to form subgrids, pistons can bend or push subgrids into one another, and generate a lot of vibration and shake the grid apart (also known as Clang). In general, it's safest to use mechanical blocks on static grids.

On the Control Panel Screen (Experimental mode), enable the Share Inertia Tensor setting of the subgrid pistons. Do not enable Share Inertia Tensor on the first piston that’s attached to the main grid. This equalises the virtual masses to achieve more stable behaviour.

If you have to use mechanical blocks while flying/driving a mobile grid, it's recommended to set a Gyroscope on override with 0 RPM on all axes for stabilisation. Optimally, park, and lock the grid safely to the ground with Landing Gear while using mechanical blocks. This will help greatly to reduce shaking.

Gallery

A crane built out of pistons, hinges, and rotors. (Image source: Splitsie)
A crane arm stabilised by two extra pistons on rotors used as cross braces. (Image source: Splitsie)

Construction

Pistons exist for large and small grid. They are made up of two parts, the base and the slim Top Piston Part. After you place a piston base, the head is added automatically. You must weld up both parts for the piston to be functional (so extra parts are needed).

They can attach to blocks on the base end and head end, but not on the cylindrical sides. The narrow sides of the piston head can also attach to blocks.

Pistons have ports on their head and base, allowing items to be transferred through them using the conveyor system. The small grid pistons interface with Small Conveyors only, due to their hatch size, and are bound by the same item size restrictions as small conveyors are.

Tip: If you notice a disruption in your conveyor system, but all conveyor tubes indicate a green light, remember to also check the integrity of your pistons – especially check the piston heads for damage!

Offset Added By Each Piston

You might notice that even when a piston is fully retracted or extended, blocks placed on the piston head will be slightly offset from the original grid, in the direction the piston is facing. This can cause to a slight step when boarding and disembarking piston elevators, and could cause issues when using pistons along with other mechanical blocks for advanced geometric constructions. The exact offsets from the grid as as follows:^[1]

Piston Offset
Block type	Offset (meters)
Large grid piston	0.158463
Small grid piston	0.031542

Total Lengths of Pistons

Piston Size
Size	Position	Length (blocks)	Length (meters)
Large Grid	Fully Retracted	2.0633852	5.158463
Large Grid	Fully Extended	6.0633852	15.158463
Small Grid	Fully Retracted	2.063084	1.031542
Small Grid	Fully Extended	6.063084	3.031542

Recipe

Piston
Component	Large Ship/Station Required	Large Ship/Station Optional	Small Ship Required	Small Ship Optional
Steel Plate	25	25	5	5
Small Steel Tube	—	—	4	—
Motor	10	—	2	—
Large Steel Tube	10	—	—	—
Construction Comp.	30	—	5	—
Computer	5	—	1	—

References

↑ https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965022823

[1] ttps://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2965022823

[1]

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